How to Get a Programming Job Without a Degree

Did you know that approximately 28 percent of the programming professionals out there do not have a bachelor’s degree?

StackOverflow surveys computer professionals once in every three years. The 2019 StackOverflow Survey clearly states that less than 70 percent of the IT professionals have a college degree. That too, whether they studied computer science or not is unclear. Companies do not mind hiring a degree-less candidate if they possess the required skills and knowledge.

Here Are the 5 Best Ways to Get a Programming Job Without a Degree

1) Learn to Love What You Do

There are plenty of programming professionals out there who are not even good at math. Being good at programming requires you to sit and solve real-world problems for hours on end. It doesn’t matter if you have a college degree or not. As long as you love what you do, corporations will offer you a job based on your skillset and zeal to learn more. A college degree is just a bonus.

2) Learn the Fundamentals Well

Programming is a vast field. When looking for a programming job, it is important to be clear that you know the area of your interest well. For instance, to get a job as a database developer or a data scientist, you need to know basic languages like SQL, MySQL, RDBMS, etc really well. No matter what field of programming you choose, you will always find 2-3 must-know core languages.

3) Built Something Valuable

When it comes to working on dummy projects, most programming newbies download already existing projects from the internet to get started. This could be a good thing for someone wanting to get acquainted with the IDE or the server.

However, your work should stop here. Try to understand the real-world problems faced by people in your locality and build an app or a website to help them out. This will make you stand out from the rest of the job contenders.

4) Start a Blog

Marketing is a key component of finding a job without a degree. Businesses and hiring managers look for candidates with degrees from reputed universities. A college degree is the best indicator of a candidate’s knowledge and skills, particularly when they haven’t yet met the candidate in person. Since you do not have the proof of legitimacy, it is crucial that you communicate it with your work.

5) Negotiate Salary

When it comes to choosing a company to work for, there are several factors that you need to consider. Salary information available online can help you get an idea of the base salary package, but the pay really depends on the kind of problems the company is expecting it’s employees to solve. The more challenging the problems, the higher the salary. During negotiations, you need to equate your salary based on the work you are going to be asked to do.

Summary

Finally, if you are looking for a programming job without a degree it wouldn’t hurt to first try out other part-time employment opportunities like freelancing or contractual work. You can do it until you get a job of your liking.